That Was Easy! Barack Solves Iraq

Barack Obama presents his plan for withdrawing from Iraq before going there and meeting with the people on the ground.  I especially admire the power of positive wishful thinking embedded in this seemingly simple sentence:

Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president.

Obama has a plan to greatly reduce US involvement in Iraq.  Whether ending US involvement ends the fighting is a matter of serious dispute - at his website as of June 22 Obama wrote of a "civil war"; one might debate whether that would worsen if the US leaves.

Ah, well - if removing US troops equals "ending the war", then it is peace in Darfur.

REALITY HAS BITTEN!  As of June 22 the Obama website wrote of a "civil war" in Iraq, as duly mocked in this post and excerpted below:

The Problem

The Surge: The goal of the surge was to create space for Iraq's political leaders to reach an agreement to end Iraq's civil war. At great cost, our troops have helped reduce violence in some areas of Iraq, but even those reductions do not get us below the unsustainable levels of violence of mid-2006. Moreover, Iraq's political leaders have made no progress in resolving the political differences at the heart of their civil war.

Now as of July 14, progress has been made - the only civil war mentioned is the experience of the United States back in the 1860's ("A New Strategy Needed: The Iraq war has lasted longer than World War I, World War II, and the Civil War."), and the old "surge" passage now reads as follows:

The Problem

Inadequate Security and Political Progress in Iraq: Since the surge began, more than 1,000 American troops have died, and despite the improved security situation, the Iraqi government has not stepped forward to lead the Iraqi people and to reach the genuine political accommodation that was the stated purpose of the surge. Our troops have heroically helped reduce civilian casualties in Iraq to early 2006 levels. This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political accommodation in Iraq is a direct result of President Bush’s failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable.

Wow, The Minuteman got results!  Tomorrow, I command the tides.

AS HUBRIS SETS IN:  Hmm, that June 22 post was linked by the InstaPundit himself so it is not absurd to think that some Obama counter-intel operative noticed it.

Well.  Can we draw the arrow of cause and effect from my post to the revised view of the Iraq civil war at the Obama website?  A humble blogger (that oxymoron is a belated George Carlin tribute) would focus on the "common cause" explanation - the same factors that prompted Team Obama to re-calibrate his Iraq position prompted them to update their website and me to look at it.

But folks who prefer to paddle in snark-infested waters will cry out as one - The InstaPundit Gets Results!

Comments

[BobS]

Lest we forget The Ballad of Jane by LA Guns http://www.metrolyrics.com/ballad-of-jane-lyrics-la-guns.html

[BobS]

or maybe we do famous quotes from like say, SNL....."Jane,you ignorant sl......."

[BobS]

I'm losing priveledges here at a disturbing rate

[Soylent Red]

I've got a little ditty in my head, and it goes a little something like this...

(Uh one, uh two, uh one two three four)

"Jane's World, Jane's World
It's Party Time, It's Excellent
Jane's World, Jane's World
It's Party Time, It's Excellent

Libs go mental when they walk down the street
Cause it's Jane they don't want to meet.
She's down in the basement playing with her toys,
and if you do not like it you're a sphincter boy.

Jane's World, Jane's World
It's Party Time, It's Excellent
Jane's World, Jane's World
It's Party Time, It's Excellent"

Thank you Cleveland! We love you all! Good night!

(curtain)

[scottl720]

wow hit thanks for that!, i'm no deadhead but enjoyed the heck outta that,

one night when my wife was in school in the city we were in the bar we went to every weekend, rodeo bar on 23rd? and 3rd.

there was a guy in a white tux sitting alone up front, there wasn't a dozen people in the bar, the girl who was singing and i later realized was joan 'dear god' somebody or other says please welcome Bob Weir, he stands up and launches into johnny b. goode, i'm like rubbing my eye's 'thats bob weir!

[BobS]

That's it, Soylent Red!

[hit and run]

Is no one else watching the all star game?

Game is tied 3-3

In the bottom of the 10th, the AL is at bat. First batter grounds to second, error by the second baseman. Second batter grounds to second, error by the second baseman. Runners on first and third. Intentional walk to load the bases.

Bases loaded, no outs. Infield and outfield are brought in to make a play at the plate.

Next batter, grounds to second.......and second baseman.....throws the runner out at the plate. Two more ground balls and the NL gets out of the inning after bases loaded, no outs.

Wild.

[Ann]

"Gee Soylent, that sounds like some work is probably involved, maybe some difficult work so that would cut back on his involvement." ...bad

Bad,

He couldn't pour rain out of a boot with a hole in the toe and directions on the heel. (You crack me up and I miss your southern style.)

[bad]

Glad you enjoyed that mess, Ann. I swear I was sober.....

[hit and run]

Bad:
I swear I was sober.....

Was? How 'bout now?

[Porchlight]

Hmmmm, how about a Mr. Porchlight original "Jane" theme song?

Thanks for asking, Hit, but there are no "Jane" originals and I can't find any Jane covers, either. They've covered Dylan, Stones, Velvets, but none of the Jane-related songs that I can remember. YouTube is hard to search though, so I may be missing something.

But since I can't resist bragging on my guys, just for kicks I will leave you with the DIY video for a tune called "El Paso," last seen on Bush's iPod. Mr. Porchlight can be glimpsed several times here, in a blond wig and also with the Washington Monument in the background.

[bad]

Newsbusters on Andrea Mitchell and The New Yorker cover:

"...The folks at the New Yorker are very smart, very learned, learned people, but once you get outside of the confines of Manhattan and the Upper West Side, you sort of begin to wonder if anyone-- if there was a conversation around the table about how will this be viewed by people who won't necessarily get the joke."

If she keeps saying things like that she could find herself invited to serve in an Obama administration...

[Soylent Red]

Woohoo! Free baseball! Does it get any better?

[bad]

Was? How 'bout now?

depends on your definition of "now"

[hit and run]

Porchlight:
But since I can't resist bragging on my guys, just for kicks I will leave you with the DIY video for a tune called "El Paso," last seen on Bush's iPod.

1) That blonde wig was really doing it for me.

2) That's really really cool -- I thought the iPod thing would be some joke. But it's not. That's really really cool.

[Soylent Red]

Ugh. Is it me or have All-Star Games recently turned into relief pitcher marathons?

Porch:

How are you affiliated with the Gourds? They pretty well kick ass.

[Porchlight]

Soylent,

My husband is the accordion/keyboards guy. Glad you like 'em! Let me know if you want some merch, I would be thrilled for you to bring it along in your travels...

Hit,

Thanks. Yeah, it looks like Mark McKinnon had good taste when he programmed it. :) The band ended up playing the Texas Black Tie & Boots Ball in DC for the 2004 Inaugural. Supposedly Bush & Family stopped in for a minute, but no one saw them. Even more exciting for the guys was ZZ Top playing at breakfast in the hotel ballroom the next morning, with a huge breakfast taco spread. Everything is connected here in Texas I guess.

[Danube of Thought]

Then there's always "John Thomas says goodnight to Lady Jane." But you kids probably weren't allowed to read that...

[glenda waggoner]

LOL ..SR you are spot on, as usual.!

[Soylent Red]

Thanks! I'll reach out when I get ready to go.

We can team up to bring musical enlightenment to reactionary Central Asia.

Actually, I'm really looking forward to polluting their minds with Tom Waits. How do you cry into your beers when Islam forbids drinking?

[Porchlight]

Tom Waits...ahh, great memories. My first date with my husband was at a Tom Waits show. My college roommates used to call Tom Waits (the later stuff, Rain Dogs etc.) "radiator music." It drove them out of the room so it'll drive those reactionaries insane.

Definitely give a holler when you're gearing up to go.

[glenda waggoner]

Their holy days are Thursday and Friday, just wander off in another direction, but bring straws and koozies.

[Soylent Red]

Heh. And Spike Jones for the kiddies.

I sense an international incident coming on...

[JM Hanes]

Just catching up here, but the reason I enjoy attending services at black churches is because there are always kids, they always squirm and nobody cares! If an infant starts crying, Mom just gets up and bounces him on her arm at the back of the room till he settles down, so that she doesn't have to miss any of the service herself, and nobody blinks an eye. I've never seen anybody change a diaper in a pew, but I have no trouble imagining it. People just stand up and say Amen whenever they hear something they agree with, nobody can sit still when the choir sings, and everybody leaves feeling great. If the Obamas were whiffing church, I don't believe it had anything to do with the kids for a second.

[hit and run]

AL wins on a sac fly. Game over. Good night and drive safely.

[JM Hanes]

Oh Jesus, I just read Obama's foreign policy speech.

[Ralph L]

But you kids probably weren't allowed to read that...
Required reading in senior Honors English at SSS in 1978. They were trying to keep us interested. At least it was better than Sons and Lovers.

[Ralph L]

is sucking up their campaign contributions.

[Ralph L]

Let's try that again:
Capitol Hill Democrats have begun to complain privately that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign
is sucking up their campaign contributions.

[glasater]

A guy from ZZ Top bought a home a few blocks away from me a few years ago. It--the home--was the territorial governor's mansion.
They renovated the heck out of it--did a beautiful job--and now it looks like some sort of big pink cake sitting right in the middle of a grove of trees:-)

[Pagar]

"I sense a learning moment"
Soylent Red, you did an excellent job on outlining the problems with putting more troops in Afghanistan.
IMO, Obama and many of the others in Congress having access and security clearances is really scary.

[Jane]

You guys are so funny and getting so in front of yourselves. You've got one thing right tho (Rick) I sure as hell intend to drag JOM along with me. Right now I'm compiling data on energy and perqbusters. What I'd really like to do is compile a list of every perq that congress has awarded itself - free gas, free cars, no SS, medical, insider trading privileges - and go on a rail about eliminating every one of them, so Congress can get back to serving not stealing.

I'd also like to find some data about how much each elected official's wealth has increased since being elected.

The way this will play out is a friend of mine who has a show on blog radio will show me the ropes. I need to get a handle on what works in terms of style etc. SBW's advice was fabulous in that regard.

The original offer is from a very local radio station so we are a few lightyears away from global syndication, but trust me, I'll let you all know. Then you can all call in, and be my guests.

(But I do love the idea of a themesong)

Oh and Good Morning. This place is a joy to wake up to.

[thelonereader]

Re:This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political

Anyone else note that BHO is admitting here that there was/is al Qaeda in Iraq? So if we are fighting al Qaeda there what's the beef?

[thelonereader]

Re:This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political

Anyone else note that BHO is admitting here that there was/is al Qaeda in Iraq? So if we are fighting al Qaeda there what's the beef?

[Cecil Turner]

So if we are fighting al Qaeda there what's the beef?

Precisely. If it's "distracting" anyone, it's Al Qaeda. The whole point of defeating Al Qaeda is to destroy their prestige by make them ineffective on their own terms. And nothing could be so counterproductive to those trying to rebuild the Caliphate than the loss of their sponsors to secular democratic governments. Moreover, the revelation of the Islamists' goals (e.g., a country-wide hellhole of sectarian violence in Iraq) discredits their cause more than any military campaign ever could. But you can't get to the end game by surrendering.

And for those who complain at the cost, I'd proffer an Iron Duke quote:

Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won.

"snark-infested waters"

[groan]

[clarice]

Since as we learned from 9/11 AQ probably had state sponsors but the exact nature of their role is too murky to prove on court tv (transits thru Iran, Salman Pak, fake passports,financial ties) best to just destroy state sponsors or persuade them that it is futile to continue or to simply make AQ too ineffectual for state sponsors to bother with.
Want to play false flag games? Well try it without a flag.

[Danube of Thought]

Morin', Jane. Please add to your list the infuriating Congressional parking lot a Dulles airport, which generall sits about 90% empty while us proles drive around and around. Makes the steam come out of my ears every time.

[PeterUK]

Jane,
How aboutHurricane Jane

[sophy]

Welcome to our game world, my friend asks me to buy some wakfu gold .